New York City Triathlon

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New York City Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

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New York City, New York
United States
Korff Enterprises
90F / 32C
Sunny

Total Time = 2h 49m 46s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 205/409

Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 2am (yes, 2am), had a couple of pb&j's and took the subway to the race. Set up transition in the dark. Walked around and met Michelle (mburkhart) and said hello to Kristen (Lazymarathoner). Then got my wetsuit and hiked a mile upstream to the swim start.
I had a bottle of "Tiger" gatorade and 4 margarita shot bloks on the way up to the start.

Event warmup:

Did I mention the mile walk to the swim start? No warmup needed. In retrospect I should have stretched a lot more than I did, although I'm not sure if it would have helped.

Swim

19m 8s
1640 yards
01m 10s / 100 yards

Comments:

The current was amazing. Once we started, I got into a very fast, comfortable rhythm very quickly. The group thinned out, and the current was so strong that I didn't even bother drafting very much. I had intended to stay way to the right, where the current is strongest, but somehow I ended up drifting way to the left. I hadn't been sighting as much as I usually do, figuring that, since it's a straight-line swim, there was no need, but that was a mistake.
At about the 2/3 mark, just as I started passing people from the previous wave (which is always fun), I got NAILED by one or more jellyfish. It hit me in the face, just below my goggles, and swept around the right side of my neck and down into my wetsuit to about the base of my neck. And it hurt like a motherf*cker. I'e never been stung before, and It was incredibly painful, and since it was IN MY SUIT, it wouldn't go away. But, there I was in the middle of the Hudson, so not much to do but keep going. Once I hit the ramp, I couldn't get out of my suit fast enough. Overall, it was a good swim, despite the problems.

What would you do differently?:

Sight better. Not get stung. Not run under the stupid shower, which apparently reactivates the jellyfish toxins.

Transition 1

07m 26s

Comments:

We had a 400y run to transition, and, since I was barefoot, I didn't want to push it and tax the calf, plus I was busy dealing with jellyfish tentacles.

Once I got to transition, everything went ok. I took 2 Enduralytes and got on the bike. Long run from the swim entrance, but I was close to bike out.

What would you do differently?:

Not having to baby my calf would have allowed me to run faster to transition. Other than that it was ok.

Bike

1h 19m 56s
24.85 miles
18.65 mile/hr

Comments:

This was pretty good ride all in all. I got passed by lots of people, but mostly on tri bikes with race wheels, which I don't worry about. I was confident in the aerobars on all the descents. I have to check my Garmin, but I was well above 30mph on several of them, and I'm pretty sure I cracked 40mph at one point. That was fun. I didn't have any of the problems with the highway joints that some people have had, flatting or losing waterbottles and whatever. I really enjoyed this course.

What would you do differently?:

Nothing. This was not an easy course, and I managed a pretty good split. A year ago, I was averaging 18mph on flat sprint courses, so to be able to average 18.6 over a hilly 25m course is progress I'm proud of.

Transition 2

02m 4s

Comments:

A decent transition. I took another enduralyte, grabbed my little bottle of water (since there are no stops for the first mile+), shoved 2 gels in my pocket, and took off. I had a long run from my rack to run out.

What would you do differently?:

I can't think of anything specific. It was ok. I fumbled with my race belt and all my crap, and that slowed me down a little.

Run

1h 01m 15s
6.21 miles
09m 52s min/mile

Comments:

Right as I passed the Brooklyn Tri Club cheering section, followed almost immediately by my wife at about the 1 mile mark, my calf grabbed me. Same tight, painful crampiness that I've been dealing with for weeks. I tried adjusting my stride, adjusting my pace, I took a couple of short walk breaks, even stopped at one point to massage it, and nothing helped. So I just decided to gut it out. It never got better. At various times I thought a lot about Lucy, and that really helped. It didn't make the pain go away, but it was a distraction (a couple of times, I got pretty emotional, which has never happened in a race), and it definitely inspired me to keep going. Mile after mile ticked by slowly, as seemingly my entire age group ran past me. I developed a blister on my foot from the water I poured on my head to keep cool. Every corner seemed to reveal another hill, and I started to feel hot and dehydrated and light-headed, despite taking in water at every stop. Finally, I realized that we must be getting close, and that, miraculously, my goal of 3 hours was still in reach, despite the slow pace I was grinding along at. I had a little left for a kick when I hit the chute, but honestly, for the first time, I was really happy a race was over.

What would you do differently?:

Not get hurt. Not let water get in my shoes.

Post race

Warm down:

I went through the chute, got my towel and my medal, and managed a couple of bottles of water and vitamin water. Got my finisher photo taken, and found my family. Getting back to transition and then home on the subway with all my gear was a pain. Finally, made it home after a long day, and my son and I passed out together on his bed and slept for 2 hours.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

This freakin' injury. I never really believed that it was 100%, and I suspected that it would bother me at some point, but I didn't expect it to be Mile 1. That was disappointing, because up to that point, I was feeling really strong, fitness-wise. No question in my mind that I could have run a lot faster but for the injury.
Oh, and the jellyfish sting didn't help much.

I think it's funny that I finished 205 out of 409. Literally, MOP.

Event comments:

This race isn't perfect, by any means, but they do an amazing job, considering the magnitude of it. It's a great course, there are zillions of super-helpful volunteers, the expo and the post-race stuff is fantastic. It's expensive, and it has other flaws, but it's not for nothing that it's one of the premier events in the country. I'll definitely do this race again, but I'll probably volunteer next year so that I can do it again in '10 for free.

Last updated: 2007-09-12 12:00 AM

Swimming
00:19:08 \| 1640 yards \| 01m 10s / 100yards
Age Group:	0/409
Overall:	0/
Performance:	Good
Suit:	2XU Comp II full
Course:	Straight line swim downstream. Waiting for the race to start, you float in the water, hanging on to a rope to avoid getting swept downstream. The current was so strong, it was like sitting in a horizontal waterfall. I think that's the best way I can describe it. It was that powerful.
Start type:	Deep Water	Plus:	Waves
Water temp:	73F / 23C	Current:	Medium
200M Perf.	Good	Remainder:	Good
Breathing:	Good	Drafting:	Good
Waves:		Navigation:	Below average
Rounding:

T1
Time:	07:26
Performance:	Average
Cap removal:	Good	Helmet on/ Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck?	No	Run with bike:	Yes
Jump on bike:	No
Getting up to speed:

Biking
01:19:56 \| 24.85 miles \| 18.65 mile/hr
Age Group:	0/409
Overall:	0/
Performance:	Good
HR was pretty well managed.
Wind:	Some
Course:	This was a long loop on what are normally highways which were closed for the event. A couple of long, relatively steep hills. The high point for me was riding my bike through a toll both. Got a little bit of a headwind on the ride back.
Road:	Smooth Dry	Cadence:	83
Turns:	Good	Cornering:
Gear changes:	Good	Hills:	Average
Race pace:	Hard	Drinks:	Not enough

T2
Time:	02:04
Overall:	Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike		Good
Racking bike		Good
Shoe and helmet removal		Good

Running
01:01:15 \| 06.21 miles \| 09m 52s min/mile
Age Group:	0/409
Overall:	0/
Performance:	Below average
HR was very high-- 170+ for much of this run. My LT is around 167, so this was a torturous run for me.
Course:	1 mile across 72nd street, followed by a loop of the northern half of Central park. Lots of rollers, 2 big hills. two smaller descents.
Keeping cool	Below average	Drinking	Not enough

Post race
Weight change:	%
Overall:	Average
Mental exertion [1-5]	4
Physical exertion [1-5]	3
Good race?	Yes

Evaluation
Course challenge	Just right
Organized?	Yes
Events on-time?	Yes
Lots of volunteers?	Yes
Plenty of drinks?	Yes
Post race activities:	Good
Race evaluation [1-5]	4

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jmk-brooklyn

2008-07-20 8:31 PM

Champion

7821

Brooklyn, NY

Subject: New York City Triathlon

New York City Triathlon

New York City Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

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